Deep well bridge



Aug. 5, 1952 FIGJ Filed Aug. 15, 1950' so l2 IO 24 j a l2. 2 29 H FIG.5

lnveni 'orsr W. K. Van Brunf T.W. Hollis 55 Their Agenf:

This'inventionrelates-to apparatus for plug- Patented Aug. 5,1952

i UNITED STATES 1.45 v h i V 2,60 5,s}i6. DEEP. mmie Willard Karl Van Brunt, Odessa,and'ThedWhite- 1 i r Hollis, Notrees, Tex., assigriors to 'S-hellDev'eb' v 'opment. Company, San Francisco, CalifIgaedor-i;

.porationof Delaware w .1 Application August 15,

. SCI aims. (o issf s -ging'the" borehole of a well and pertains more particularly toa bridge adapted to be anchored ina borehole for supporting plu'gging or cementing'materials which efiectively close-the borehole.

* During the drilling of wells, it is necessary on "occasion-to close off the lower portion of a borehole. For example, when it is desired to produce from the higher of'twoproducing formations, it is oftenadvantageous to seal off the borehole at -sme =point-belowth higher formation. *Alsof "before casing is cemented in a well borehole, the "producing formation is generally isolated by sealing or plugging the boreholebelow the casing shoe to prevent cement from coming in contact :=:.2:.'.;.. Figures 2, 3 and 4 are cross-sectional taken"alon'g the lines; 2-2, es and 4-4 of hole.

Figure '1', respectivelyf" V I Figure"5" is a ;longitudinal view, in cross sec- -tion'; of the present device enclosed within itS containeran being-"lowered through a well bore- 6'- is a longitudinal view of a container *Fi'g urer'l is 'a detail view of a portionof the ody member of the present device showing" the radial slotsth'rough the wall thereof;

Referring to Figure 1 of the drawing, the-presis relatively strong and atthesametime readily grindableunder the action of a drill bit. Such *sitatesthe time-consuming operation of makingup the pipe string. Other types of bridging plugs are fragile and'are often damaged before being set in placey-still-others employ setting mechanisms which are released prematurely.

It is thereforethe primaryobject of the present invention to provide a simple, effective bridging device.which.may be lowered to and firmly an- ...chored at any desired "depth in a well borehole forsupportingflany quantity of bridge forming ,materiaLsuch as rock, plastic, cement, etc.

Another object of the. present invention is to provide a bridging device. adapted to be automatically anchoredwithin a well to provide a bridge that-conforms to the cross sectionof the well at the point at, which it is set.

, A further object of this invention is to provide a bridging device having its bridging and anchoring elements protected from damage as it is lowered into .a well borehole,

materials include aluminum alloys, hard :rubber, Bakelite and other thermosettingplastics. Therv.moplastics arenot generally suitabledue'to high temperatures which may beencountered in deep wells.

The body member l0 has formed thereina bore H. 'To facilitate the assembly of the present device the body member may be threaded as at [2, Extending radially through the wall of said body member I Dare two rows of spaces, slots or openings l3 and M (Figs. 1 and '7), said rows being displaced axially along said body withregardto eachother, andeach row extending completely aroun'dsaid'body. One wall, [5 and l6 of slots [3 and [4, extends in a direction subbeveled inwardly,'as.shown in Figure 1'. "1 j Swingingly 'mountedin the "upper row of stantiallyhorinal'to the axis of the body'inember l0 while theopposite walls I! and 'l8are I3 are a plurality "of semi-rigid fins or thin plate members f l 9 :which'surroun'd the body member In to forman umbrella opening upwardly, as shown in Figuresl and 2. One end of each fin 19 has an arm 20 fixedly secured thereto (as by welding) or formed thereon at substantially right angles. The arm-'20 extends through the slot l3 and pro- -J'ects 'ashortdistance into the bore I l of thebody [0. The 'fins' 1-9 are preferably made of a thin gauge aluminum alloy and are substantially triangular in shape-formin in'their own or operbe understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention as shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

. Figure 1-is a longitudinal view, in cross section,

" of the present bridging device in anchored positlon withinthev well borehole. I a

' dimension faces upwardly."

' Above the'slots IS, the' body In maybe provided with a recess 2| in its outer surface to accommodate the upwardly-extending fins l9 when they-are in their retracted position, as shown in slots body is arrested. I

v iAfter the fins-ll}! land -kniv ,manually forced into their retracted position, the 7 portion of the body member. I 0:above the positioning wires-27 is inserted intheopen' bottom of p a hollow, cylindrical containment! -tl ig; tilywhose inner wall frictionally engageSithe-puter surface vof the body member IQ. '.The'top OfthecOntainer 3| is provided with suitable? means; suchzas "a ring 3 Figure 5. The recess 21 is at least equal in length to that of the fins l9 and in depth to the thickness of the fins.

In a like manner the lower row of slots H in the body I0 is adapted to contain anchoring means, which may comprise'a plurality of broad, fiat, downwardly-extending knife elements 22 having their outer ends 23 pointed. The other end of each knife element is equipped with an arm The knives are preferably flat so as to fit, in

their retracted position, in an annual recess 25 provided in the outer surface of the body member It]. In their operative position, Figure 1, the

knives 22 thrust against the wall of the well borehole 26.

" -Fixedly mounted on the lower endpftheebody member ID, as by bolting, welding. etc .,..are-a plurality of positioning spring w-ires 2l. The

, wires are secured. to the body I0 soithat theyex- (tend upwardly and-radially therefrom, being of suificient length to contact the inner walls ofthe well borehole 26 ,(Flgs.1,"'l and 5). Thelangle at which the springwiresi l are attachedpermits the wires, while beinginserted into andihrough .a wellcasing; to slide freely over anyin egularities in the well. casing such -.as exist at :a joint between two casing sections, and toslide freely over anyirre ularities in the'open borehole 26.

Uponmovement 0f theibody member lllwupwards, however, the free ends of: the wires-.-.are adapted to-engage any projection .on'the sidewalls of the well, whereupon" the :upward movement of the Slidably mounted within the bore Hoof the .Ibody member |0:.are1.a';pair of .rigidimetallic or gplastic'plugsfi28 and 29 separated by an intermediate resilient plug 30 of rubber. One-endof the plugs 28 and '29 bearsagainst opposite ends resilient plug 30 is applied ,to each'ofthej'plugs 28 and 29, forcing them.againstthearmsZO and 24 whereby the fins l9 andknives22are forced outwardly awayjfrom .the body. member i0. and

against the well wall or iborehole .2'6. 'Ihe .di-- .ameter of the rubberplugtfi is preferalysmaller than that orth'e bore. n andwtheotheljlplugs 2a andf29 so that whenltheifinsf'lS'andknives.22 arevmanually forced into their ire'tractedlo inoperative position the rubber. plug can .expand radially when compressed lbetween lthe. adjacent plugs 21 and'28f(Fig;5)

es LL22 have vbeen 32 to which a cable B Smaybeattached. .-,P referably, the container 3Lise-also provided withjports 3 4 and 35 in the wall thereof at thetop and; bottom, respectively, 'to ,,facilitate removal of the container from the-body member l0 byobviating any suction efiect which may be created within the container during the removal thereof.

, In using the present bridging device for plugging an open borehole 26 at a predetermined depth, the portion of the body member In containing the fins l9 and knives 22 is inserted into the container 3| whichis then lowered by means of the cable or wire line 33 through the well casing into the well borehole 26, as shown in Figure 5. While the device is being run into the casing, th positioning wires 2'! scrape along the inner wall of said casing and borehole and center the device-therein. .The weight of the device is Sllf.

ficient .to permit it to be rapidly dropped in the sired point within the well borehol 28, an 'up borehole. Since the operative elements are covered by the container 3|, they cannot normally be injured or prematurely actuated.

r .When the bridge has been lowered to the deward pull is applied to the cable #3 whichtends to raise the bridgingsdevice. P However, the free .ends of. the positioning wires 21,.whicha ?e n con- .tact with the wall oi the -borehole, resist. any up- I ward movement oftl -ie-v body;Irhembenwhereby a continued upward pull on the cablelflhauses the container 3| to be removed .upwardly fromithe body member ID. v

Asthe container 3 l is removedfrom. thebody Ill, the anchoring-knivesil and thefins l-ll are forced outwardly (Fig.1) against the innerwall of the well borehole:26by-the action ofthe 'rub- .ber plug 30. expanding and forcing the-adjacent plugs28 and 29,110 actuate the-fins andk-nives. I9

and 22 into contaet -with the walliof the :well.

The knives 22 penetrate said-wallancl insure positive. support of the bridging device within" the borehole and the expanding fins. IQformanropen top umbrella adapted-to receive and-supportany desired materials which may be deliveredinto. the borehole to form. a plug above the umbrella. After the bridge has; been: set, said plll ging materials maybe introduced into the borehole26 I l. A wellsbridgingdevicej adaptedto be lowered into a' wellno'n a cable;v comririsingcarr: elongated cylindrical body, aiplurality ofpositioningarms carried iabo'ut theilowerliendof sairl b0'dy,"--said arms being .extendible .ioutwardlyan'd LupWardly to contact the walls 'iOf the ;.we=11 ,.:a, plurality of anchoring cutterszcarrie'ds about the rower: end of said body abovesaidipositioningarms, said'cutters being extendible outwardly and downwardly to penetrate the walls of the wellga plurality of fin members. carried about the -upperend of said body, said fin members being -eXteIidi-ble A outwardly -and upwardly toforma basket having its outer rim in contact-with?thefwallsof the well, resilient means carried by s'aidbodyurging said anchoring cutters and said fin-membersto an outwardly extending position, a *coVer member slidingly 'iitting over-s'aid bddyf-to retain-said fin members d saidanchoring cutters ii .tracted position substantially vl parallel with the cthe wall of the well.

, 2. A well-bridgingw'dev-ice adapted to-be lowered intoa well ona cable,ircomprising an elongated cylindrical" body having :a tcylindrical" bore in the central portion thereof; a :plurality :ofipo'sitioning arms carried about-the zlo'werendof- 'said' bo'dy, said arms being extendible outwardly-and ---upanchoring cutters and said fin members to an outwardly extending position, a cover member slidingly fitting over said body to retain said fin members and said anchoring cutters in a retracted position substantially parallel with the arms of said body, and means attaching said cover to said cable, said cover being removable from said body by a pull exerted on said cable when said positioning arms are in. contact with the wall of the well.

3. A well-bridging device adapted to be lowered into a well on a cable, comprising an elongated cylindrical body having a cylindrical bor in the central portion thereof, a plurality of positioning 7 arms carried about the lower end of said body, said arms being extendible outwardly and upwardly to contact the walls of the well, first and second rows of lateral slots through the body into the bore thereof, a plurality of anchoring cutters carried about the lower end of said body above said positioning arms, said cutters being extendible outwardly and downwardly to penetrat the walls of the well, arms secured at substantially right angles to one end of said cutters, said arms extending through said first row of lateral ports into said bore, a plurality of fin members carried about the upper end of said body, said fin members being extendible outwardly and upwardly to form a basket having its outer rim in contact with thewalls of the well, arms secured at substantially right angles to one of said fin members, said arms extending through said second row of lateral ports into said bore, resilient means carried in compression between the ex-v ber slidingly fitting over said body to retainsaid fin members and said anchoring cutters in a retracted position substantially parallel with the arms of said body, and means attaching said cover to said cable, said cover being removable from said body by a pull exerted on said cable when said positioning arms are in contact with the wall of the well.

4. A well-bridging device comprising an elongated body member adapted to be lowered by a cable into a well, positioning arms secured near the lower end of said body member, said arms extending upwardly and outwardly from the body member to engage the wall of the well, downwardly-extending anchoring means exteriorly carried by said body member above said arms, said anchoring means tending to spread outwardly from said body member to engage the well wall, upwardly-extending fin means carried by said body member above said anchoring means, said fin means tending to spread outwardly from said 7 body to contact the wall of the well whereby an annular pocket is formed between the body member and the wall of the well, and container means surrounding said body member above said positioning arms to retain said anchoring means and said fin means in retracted position, said container means being upwardly removable from said body member to release said anchoring and said fin means.

5. A deep well-bridging device comprising an elongated body member adapted to be lowered by a line into a well, outwardly-extending positioning arms secured to the lower end of said body member for engaging the well wall, anchoring means carried outwardly. on said body member above said arms, said anchoring means extending downwardly and outwardly from said body member, upwardly-extending overlapping fin means carried by said body member above said anchormeans being adapted to be removed from said body member by an upward pull on said line,

6. A well-bridging device adapted to be lowered by a line into a well, said bridge comprisin an elongated element having a bore through at least a portion of its length, a plurality of positioning arms carried on the lower nd of said body member, said arms extending outwardly and upwardly in resilient contact with the well wall to resist upward movement of said member in said well, first slot means through the wall of said body member to said bore, downwardly-extending anchoring knives pivotally mounted in said first slot means, one end of said knives extending into the bore of said body member, second slot means above said first slot means through the wall of said body member to said bore, upwardly-extending fin means pivotally mounted in said second slot means, one end of said fin means extending into the bore of said body, resilient means carried within the bore of said body member under compression between the ends of said knives and fin means extending into said bore, said resilient means tending to actuate said knives and fin means to force them against the well wall, an upwardly-removable container surrounding said body member in frictional engagement above said positioning arms to retain said knives and fin means in retracted position, and means for securing said lowering line to the top of said container, whereby an upward pull on said line removes the container from said body member thereby releasing the knives and fin means.

WILLARD KARL VAN BRUN'I'.

TI-IEO WHITE HOLLIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 

